The difference between two men
by Sadie's Tales
Summary: Various random ordinary situations where Sam got to see first hand the difference between Jack and Pete, set approx. before/around Threads in Season 8. Shamelessly pro Jack! No beta, so all mistakes are my own.
1. Chapter 1

"Babe, what about this one?"

Sam sighed internally, she had wanted to do this alone. Picking a new shampoo each time she ran out was something she always looked forward to. If she told people they would think she was mad but truth be told, she found it extremely relaxing. Totally monotonous and unimportant - a bad decision wouldn't result in a catastrophe and she didn't have to consider anyone else but herself and her own preferences - normally.

"I don't like that one, tried it before," she said, trying to hide her frustration. Why couldn't he just give her a moments peace. 'That's probably not a good thing to be thinking before you've even moved in together, let alone get married,' her inner self chided. 'He's just so freaking enthusiastic though…about **everything**. Would it kill him to not care about something I'm doing just once?' She frowned and looked down at her basket. At this rate the store would be closed before they were done.

Every decision she made had an alternative suggestion thrown in, he even had the gall to take some things out of the basket and replace them with 'better' brands. Why did he care about glass surface cleaner? How different could they possibly be? Why did every decision need to be a big discussion? She wasn't used to having someone second guess her. It wouldn't be so annoying if he wasn't so cheery throughout the whole thing. If she was honest, she couldn't figure out why it bugged her so much but she found his constant smiling tiring.

A woman walked by with her young son as Pete held up two different blue bottles of coconut hydrating 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner. "Oh, look, these have extra vitamins for better shine. Worth a shot, no?" he asked hopefully as his gaze drifted from her back down to the shelf. The woman looked at Pete, then at Sam with an 'it's none of my business but girl are we seeing the same thing here?' look that made Sam cringe inside.

So Pete was definitely more masculine than that particular moment had made him out to be but she couldn't lie, he wasn't exactly an Alpha. His sweater had ridden up slightly from bending down which made him look larger around the waist than he was. His jeans were also belted a lot higher than Sam would have liked and those worn out sneakers really needed to be thrown out…about three years ago. His hair wasn't styled but it lay flat on his head as always and his baby face grin while now holding 2 floral bottles didn't exactly give her butterflies. He just wasn't impressive. But he was a lot of good things and not everyone could be impressive, she reminded herself.

"I'm gonna go grab some soap in the other isle, be back in a minute," she said feeling the need to move away before he could ask any other questions or keep her longer. 'Finally, a minute to myself,' she thought, only to round a corner a few aisles down and stop dead in her tracks. Well worn but well kept black leather boots, long lean legs covered by slim fitting beige pants. White round neck t-shirt, that was particularly well fitted around toned, tanned biceps. A leather jacket flung casually over his shoulder and ray bans hanging loosely around his neck. Perfect posture and unruly salt and pepper hair. A walking sin and oh yes, her commanding officer.

Obviously sensing her gaze, he looked up from the product he has been studying intently. "Carter, fancy seeing you here, what ya up to?" he said with a slight quirk of his mouth. "Hi Sir, just picking up a few things, you?" she said, motioning to his hand as she walked toward him. "You seem very interested in…carpet stain remover?" she looked at him incredulously while holding back a laugh. He looked a little sheepish and shifted slightly, rather adorably actually if she was honest though she knew he would be horrified if he knew that's what she was thinking. "Well apparently, the brand makes all the difference ya see…" he said looking between her, the product in his hand, the shelf and back again, clearly not fully convinced. "Although how any carpet cleaner could survive without actually working is anyone's guess so I figure that's just a bit of an oversell," he finished looking more bemused than when he started. "Cleaning products aren't really my thing," he said shyly. He glanced at her briefly and frowned when he saw she was obviously enjoying his indecisiveness. "What happened?" Sam asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Pizza…and maybe a little beer…and a very poor defensive performance by the home team," he said not looking at her.

She was fully smiling now, seeing him clearly a little flustered was a nice change from the self-assured man-in-charge, General in the USAF, can kill with just his hands Jack O'Neill that she was used to. He looked at her again with a clear 'help me decide here Carter' look in his eyes. Deciding to put him out of his misery, she pointed to a different brand in front of him. "This has always worked for me," she said pulling it off the shelf and holding it out to him. Putting the other brand back on the shelf, backwards and in the wrong place, he took it from her. "If it's good enough for Carter, it's good enough for me," he said grinning. Unable to stop herself, Sam felt herself grinning back.

She wasn't sure how long they had been staring at each other smiling but just as she became aware of the fact that it had probably been longer than it should have been, given it was about carpet cleaner, his smile faltered. Almost instantly, she felt a hand at her lower back and had to suppress a shudder. "Colonel O'Neill, so nice to see you," Pete said, a little too disingenuously for Sam's liking. "It's General, actually," Jack pointed out while noticing that Sam's eyes were still shut. "Carter and I were just discussing the benefits of different brands of carpet cleaner. Thanks for the advise Carter, I'll let you know how I get on."

Sam had opened her eyes at this point and went from looking across at Pete, who was staring expectedly at her, up to Jack who's almost black eyes were boring into her soul. Or at least that's how it felt. Jack gave one final small smirk to Sam and a curt nod to Pete before turning on his heel and walking down the aisle. Sam watched him go until her rather pleasant view was interrupted by a not-so-smiley Pete. "Soap, eh?" he said, with a hint of jealousy. "I didn't think that would require someone else's input," he mused clearly irritated, "unless it's mine of course."

Rolling her eyes, Sam looked at him pointedly. "He's my boss, I could hardly ignore him!" Pete turned with a sour look on his face, "you could have actually, I would have if it had been the other way around." Sam looked at his retreating back in exasperation as he went to go find soap. She looked past him just in time to see Jack turning the corner, at the same time as the mother and son walked by. The mother actually stopped and turned back to look at Jack and after getting an eyeful while ignoring her child she caught Sam's eye and raised her eyebrows in an appreciative manner. Gathering her son up she continued on her way leaving Sam to focus on the man in front of her who seemed to have recovered and was smiling while discussing the brands of soap he preferred in Denver.

Not all men can be impressive she thought wistfully.


	2. Chapter 2

It was oppressively hot as Sam got out of the car. The natural warmth of the sun was usually a welcome change from the consistent, controlled climate of the SGC but this was something else all together. Walking quickly from her car to the house she wasn't looking forward to the heat she faced. She hadn't been here in almost 2 weeks. Work was chaotic at the moment and a last minute trip by the Joint Chiefs meant everything had gone into overdrive for the last 5 days.

The General was still on the base in meetings, she didn't envy him. They were good enough to let everyone else go early for the weekend but by the sounds things as she was leaving, he would probably be there for a while. She still had a lot to do herself mind you but she planned to do it from her house where at least she could start to feel a little more normal. The base had become like a cage this week so she was just happy to be out of there.

That said, the JC seemed to be impressed with what the SGC was doing at the moment and brief conversations with the General between meetings suggested that this little trip of theirs had eased several concerns that had been simmering. She wasn't surprised, SG's 1 - 17 had been flat out on missions, many of them bringing in new and valuable technology and they were starting to develop ties with a couple of new allies that could prove beneficial in the future. they had even found a new source of naquadah that required no bargaining with natives as the planet appeared deserted. Even though there were still some major threats facing them, it was clear the JC were confident in the General's management of both the situation and the staff.

She braced herself for a burst of heat as she opened the door but was pleasantly surprised when a wave of cool air hit her face. As she shut the door behind her, a familiar but surprised face popped out from the kitchen.

"Babe, you're home early?!" Pete exclaimed, clearly not expecting her here at this time.

"Yes, I am," she said smiling, "but you're not supposed to be here at all. When did you decide to come visit?"

"Ah, well, I know you've been super busy the past few weeks and work has been stressful so I thought I'd surprise you with dinner and a nice night in…but you're about 3 hours early," he said slightly dejected. He had clearly planned to make it a special night and Sam was particularly grateful.

As she walked into the kitchen, the sight in front of her stopped her. The counters were covered with a lot of different ingredients, this was clearly going to be a big undertaking. Pete stood there with kitchen knife in one hand and a butternut squash in the other. Her apron was a little snug and looked a little ridiculous as it was definitely not meant for a man but she didn't care. The fact that he had made such an effort spoke volumes and she hadn't been this grateful towards another person in a while. "Yeah, so you weren't supposed to see this part," he said sheepishly, looking around him and half shrugging when his eyes met hers again. She smiled gently, 'Pete, honestly, this is so sweet and you've put in so much effort already," she said as she walked towards him and kissed him softly. "Can I at least help?" she asked earnestly looking around. "No, no, no, you go relax, take a bath or something. I'll have this ready in few hours and I'm here for the weekend so we can catch up over dinner. I want to do this for you," he said with a genuine smile on his face.

She smiled and kissed him again, soundly this time, before heading to her bedroom to get into something more comfortable. While changing she decided to do work instead of take a bath. If she worked steadily until dinner, she might just get enough done to not have to do anything else until Monday, which was the least he deserved. With than in mind, she went to her den where she had a make shift office, of sorts. Taking out her laptop and files she realised she had left her charger in her lab. 'Damn it…maybe Daniel is still there?' she mused as she grabbed her phone and dialled his lab.

"Hello?" muttered a sleepy voice on the other end. "Daniel, you're worse than I am, go home," Sam said while chuckling to herself visualising Daniel falling asleep yet again at his desk. If the General saw him he would no doubt personally throw him out of the base for the weekend. "Oh, hey Sam, I, eh, was just resting my head" he said, through a rather long yawn. "Riiigghhtt," she said, not believing a word, "listen, you couldn't do me a favour, could you?" With Daniel agreeing to drop her charger off when he was on his way home, Sam decided to take advantage of the time by taking a long relaxing bath. It was without a doubt her favourite way to relax at home.

With the bubbles almost falling over the edge of the bath and the steam steadily rising, Sam sank into the tub with a contented sigh. This was bliss defined. As she felt her muscles relax, her mind began to wander to the events of the past few days. The Joint Chiefs had asked every question under the sun. 'A full debrief with the staff' they called it. Things were a bit slow on the domestic/international front so they decided that this week, of all weeks, was one where they could catch up on what was happening beyond our little planet. With next to no notice.

For his part, the General seemed exceptionally well prepared. It looked like he hadn't slept in a few days but there wasn't a question asked that he didn't have an answer for. The staff were well briefed and knew what they needed to for their respective meetings. Strategies were well aligned and for the most part, everyone left feeling like their contributions were being acknowledged. There had been a general meeting for every staff member that morning where the JC had expressed their gratitude for all the work and commitment that they had all shown.

She had her suspicions that the general had asked them to call that meeting but regardless, it's nice to get recognition. She had no doubts that the General would also be getting recognition, though most likely in private. It was clear they were impressed with the way he was running the show. The staff did him proud but only because he was such a good leader. A good leader who happened to wear dress blues like no other. It wasn't often she got to see him in his uniform so the last few days had been a treat.

Apart from his obvious discomfort, he looked incredibly handsome with his silver hair offsetting the blue to perfection. In fact, he looked so good, any time he tried to talk to her, she kept getting distracted and couldn't follow the conversation. He ended up demanding she go to the infirmary and get her head checked but after several minutes of reassuring him that she was fine, just tired, he relented. And Sam thoroughly enjoyed the view as he walked away. It amazed her how after 8 years he could still make her heart race with just a look. A Colonel in the airforce and he could turned her head to mush with a stupid joke. I mean come on!

His tanned skin and delicious brown eyes hadn't escaped her notice either. More defined by the contrasting colours of his blues, they hadn't escaped the notice of any of the women on the base either. Some of the things she had heard in the last 48 hours alone had been down right scandalous but she could hardly call them out on it without starting new rumours. She did know, however, that the general had officially topped the base's 'hot list' (again!) and would probably remain there for a while. As she continued to relax and unwind, Sam's thoughts turned increasingly to the General, or Jack as she liked to call him in her head, until she dozed off in the hot water.

Upon waking, Sam was cold and disorientated. 'Great, I look like a prune,' she thought as she quickly emptied the bath and got into the shower to warm up. She was heading out of the bathroom when she spotted her phone. Checking it, she saw a message from Daniel. He was still on base so Jack would be dropping off her charger instead and was leaving soon. That was 30 minutes ago. Crap, he'd be here soon. After dressing in comfy but still relatively nice clothes, she got out her make up and applied enough so she didn't look like she tried to hard but enough to be sure she didn't look like she had fallen asleep in the bath.

Fixing her hair she made her way down the hall and stopped when she smelt dinner. 'Pete, oh God, I forgot.' As she made her way to the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway and took in the site before her. He had made a major effort, as obvious by the state of her kitchen. Despite the air con, it was roasting. Pete was sweating as he mixed some sort of pastry in a bowl that was not a pastry bowl with something other than a spatula. He had flour on his face which had turned several shades darker since she had last seen him. It looked like he may has mistimed the whole thing as he was cursing under his breath while simultaneously trying to move pots around on the stove. While she didn't like to see him so obviously stressed, the whole scene was rather comical, like something out of a rom com. Not exactly the picture of cool, but hey, it's the thought that counts right?

He had just turned and seen her when the doorbell rang. 'The General,' she thought as she jumped slightly. Pete looked at her, slightly exasperated.

"Expecting someone?" he pressed, clearly not overly impressed at the interruption to his plans.

"Oh Daniel is just dropping off my charger from the base" she said as she started walking towards the door, not wanting him to know it was the General if she could avoid it. "He won't be staying," she finished as she opened the door and turned to face the visitor. The scene in front of her left her speechless.

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was leaning against her wall with her charger in hand. His jacket and tie were gone. The top two buttons of his shirt were open revealing the top of a toned and tanned chest. His sleeves were rolled up to just below his elbow and she could see the veins in his arms. His hair stood up in every direction and his usual raybans adorned his face which was looking away from her. Lifting himself off the wall when he noticed her, the trousers of his blues strained in such a way that gave her a whole new appreciation for the lower half of his body. Something that was not adequately displayed in field gear.

"Shit, it's hot out," he said unceremoniously as he handed her the charger. She couldn't help but laugh. Noticing a few beads of sweat forming at his hairline, she wondered what it would be like to help him cool down, or heat up, depending on his mood. 'Stop it, he's not yours,' she scolded herself. Clearly she was thinking longer than she realised as he let out an exasperated sigh which caught her attention.

"Carter, if you don't stop this non-responsive thing right now, I'm gonna take you straight to the infirmary myself, you're freaking me out. Normally I can't get you to shut up but the past few days, you barely said two words!"

'Crap, was I really that bad?' she wondered. 'It's not my fault he's so freaking hot. It's not just me either, i mean everyone can see it, but my God is this man hot.' As her eyes drifted back to his face, seeing he was looking at her expectantly she opened her mouth to speak when she heard movement behind her.

"Sammy, I cooked too much food, so if Daniel's not busy and he wants to stay, there's more than enough for all of us,' Pete finished as he came to stop beside her, clearly not expecting to see Jack O'Neill at the door.

"General?" he said clearly confused and angry at the same time, looking from Jack to Sam clearly wanting an explanation.

When Jack didn't say anything but continued to stare at Pete, Sam looked to see what had caught his attention and rendered him silent. Pete's face was now even redder and he was sweating quite a bit Somehow flour had made it's way up into his hair, in a rather large quantity. He had a dishcloth over his shoulder that clashed horribly with his old green shirt. The apron, which was bright pink and thus clashing with the red shorts she failed to notice earlier, was covered with food and it looked like he had retied it, but managed to make it lopsided so it didn't sit right. He also had crocs on, not exactly screaming 'Hey look at me, I've got great style' though it was definitely eye-catching.

The difference between the two men was night and day, black and white, hot and not. Jack looked back at Sam and swallowed. Taking off his glasses, he looked at Pete. "Shanahan," he drawled, "just dropping off a charger but thanks for the invite, I'll have to give it a pass though." Turning to Sam as he put his glasses back up to his face. "Have a good weekend Carter, I'll see you on Monday," he finished, giving her a meaningful look before rearranging his glasses and turning on his heel towards his truck. Sam couldn't help but watch as he left.

Pete, obviously buoyed by the fact that the General had left as quickly as he had come and oblivious to the comparisons that were stacking up in Sam's head, turned cheerful to her. "Dinner's ready, come in before it starts getting cold," he said as he gave her a big grin and a kiss on the cheek. As he went back to the kitchen, Sam looked back one last time to see the General give a half-assed salute before driving off in his truck.

Sam shook her head and sighed as she replayed the scene in her head. In a lot of ways Pete was great but there was no denying that in terms of sex appeal, he wasn't a patch on Jack O'Neill. Closing her eyes, she could feel a headache coming on. 'This isn't good.'

"Sammy, come on," Pete yelled.

Raising her eyes up to the sky she closed them briefly before making her way back inside and closing the door behind her.

Not all men can be hot.


	3. Chapter 3

It was early. It had to be. Sam had been trying to ignore the never-ending ringing of her alarm for at least a minute now but it was no good. She was officially awake. Turning off her alarm, she rolled onto her back and contemplated her life. She was officially another year older. It was amazing to think about how much she used to look forward to this day. Now, she never knew how to feel but it certainly wasn't joy. Yes, certain parts of her life were better than she ever could have imagined. But others were just so-so. Even parts she really should have been excited about, like Pete, didn't fill her with an overwhelming sense of delight, if she was honest. Not like her job did anyway. Surely it should though, the thought of moving down that road with him, towards a family and a more normal life. 'Isn't that what every woman wants to some degree?' she thought wistfully.

She lay there for a few more minutes, unconsciously day dreaming about what and who she really wanted and how it would feel if that life was hers. Just when she had decided that she really should be getting up and ready for work, her doorbell rang. 'Who could that be, it's only just gone 7am,' she pondered as she hurriedly threw on a sweater as she made her way to the door. Opening it, she immediately came face to face with a massive bear. A teddy bear that is. 'What the…' she thought to herself as a face appeared from behind the bear. "Samantha Carter?" asked a young woman, early twenties at the latest. "Yes," said Sam, now understanding why this girl was at her door at this hour and more importantly who had sent her.

"Delivery for you ma'am," said the girl as she handed Sam the enormous bear and went to go pick something else off the ground. "Oh, thanks," said Sam, as she made her way into the living room with the girl following behind. Placing the bear on the sofa, she stood back and the first thing she noticed was that he took up half the couch. 'Why on earth would he think I'd want…' Sam thought as the girl cleared her throat behind her. "Oh, sorry," Sam said with a small smile, "caught in my own world there. Thank you very much." "Can you sign this?" the girl asked, holding out a docket while looking around the living room. Sam signed it and noticed there were balloons on the table behind the girl as she gave it back to her. Making to leave, she turned back to Sam and gestured towards the gifts "I'd love if someone did this for me." 'That's because you're twenty' thought Sam ruefully, giving her a small, unsure smile before shutting the door once she had left.

Walking back into the living room, she surveyed the presents. A massive teddy bear, which while very soft, was one of the most impractical presents she had ever received. Didn't she tell Pete she had never been a teddy bear fan, even when she was younger? 'I was sure I did,' she thought as she turned back to the table. On top of it was a bunch of balloons with various messages, Happy Birthday, I Love You, It's Your Birthday etc. 'Cute, although they'll be going in the trash in a few days.' Turning now to the final gift, it was a massive bouquet of pink and white roses. A note in the flowers read; 'Happy Birthday Babe, so sorry I couldn't be there but hopefully the teddy will keep you company until next time. Hope the roses are the right colour! Love, Pete xx P.S. Don't worry, you're not that old! ;)' "Oh for crying out loud, not smooth!" Sam muttered as she rolled her eyes at his lame attempt at a joke.

Standing back and looking at the table before her, she found herself getting more irritated 'I hate roses, she mused, 'and I know for a fact that I've told him that many times before.' In fact she didn't really like any flowers because she had such trouble keeping them alive. Even her 'don't require much water' houseplants struggled most of the time, hence trying to coax the will-to-live into them by talking to them. Her neighbours must think she's insane. Botany and flowers in general just wasn't her thing. The only exception for reasons she had never understood were red tulips. For whatever reason she was drawn to that flower and always had been. Her Mom used to give her one tulip every year on her birthday. Only one as it was late in the season and as such, they were hard to find. But she could always find one, even if, as she found out years later, she had to go searching to neighbouring towns. Her Dad told her recently that her mom always made that extra effort because she knew how much Sam loved them.

Determined not to allow herself go down that route so early in the morning, Sam made her way down the hallway to get ready for work. She felt bad for not particularly liking Pete's gift especially as it probably cost a good bit of money but the truth is, it was so not her. In any way. And that annoyed her, he should know her better by now. It was run-of-the-mill, I-didn't-know-what-to-get-you-so-I-got-you-this. She didn't like big ostentatious gifts and never had. I mean where was she going to put that massive bear?! She continued this train of thought as she got dressed, the whole way into the mountain and down the elevators until she opened the door of her lab. As she turned on the lights, her eyes were immediately drawn to a small pile on her desk that wasn't there when she left yesterday. Walking over to it she was shocked at what she saw.

Sitting there was the latest edition of the astrophysical journal, the particular size spanner she had been meaning to buy to fix that rattle on her bike, a miniature version of her favourite candle, a bowl of blue jello from the commissary and a single red tulip. An envelope sat in front of it. Knowing who all of this was from before she had even read it, she opened it with a massive smile on her face. The front of the card had a happy looking older dog with a hat on and a cane, sitting with a thought bubble, 'It's your birthday…here's some advice from me.' Opening the card, it continued, 'Take it from me, as you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes and I can't remember the other two.' Sam laughed out loud at that part, he was always able to make her laugh, even if it was generally in unorthodox ways. She continued to read the message written below it. 'Sam, don't work too hard today! I knew even if I made it an order you wouldn't take the day off so at least some of these might help you take a longer lunch…maybe! Yours always, J'

Sam sat down and stared at the gift in front of her not sure whether to laugh or cry. She hadn't realised how well he knew her. Or maybe she had and that's why she was simultaneously so heartened and saddened by this display. Life was so unfair sometimes.

It took her a long time to stop staring at the desk and even then, it was only because Daniel and Teal'c came into her lab pestering her about getting some breakfast. After agreeing to join, if only to stop the whining from Daniel, she got up to follow them. As she was leaving the room, she took a quick look back and sighed.

Not all men can truly know you.


End file.
